Mouth dryness

[billionzz]

Last night I readjusted the hybrid mask and put some gel on my nose, that made all of the difference in the world and the mask felt good.

I was able to sleep with the mask for 6 hours last night. The reason I finally took it off was because my mouth was so dry.

I use the heated humidifier set at the max temp. of 5, is there something else that can be done to prevent the mouth dryness.

Thanks,
Bill

[beneyw]

That's why I went back to taping and the Mirage Swift...for me it is very simple..mouth stays closed...throat remains moist. Using the Hybrid my mouth drops open and I get no sleep and dry mouth.

[billionzz]

I thought with the humidifier that that would prevent this.

So does your sinuses ge that dry every night instead of your mouth?

Bill

[sleeplessinma]

I thought with the humidifier that that would prevent this.

So does your sinuses ge that dry every night instead of your mouth?

Bill

Bill, I suggest you drink a glass of water before you go to bed. That goes a long way in preventing this.

[Guest]

Last night I readjusted the hybrid mask and put some gel on my nose, that made all of the difference in the world and the mask felt good.

I was able to sleep with the mask for 6 hours last night. The reason I finally took it off was because my mouth was so dry.

I use the heated humidifier set at the max temp. of 5, is there something else that can be done to prevent the mouth dryness.

Bill, I suggest you drink a glass of water before you go to bed. That goes a long way in preventing this.

[billionzz]

I alwya drink water before bed and I always keep water on my nightstand to drink during the night.

Bill

[Guest]

My doc says that taping the mouth or using a chin strap is bad. According to him, when you are a mouthbreather the brain/body adjusts so that you inhale and exhale less quantity of air through the nares because the mouth also takes in/out some quantity of air. Now, when you tape the mouth or use a chin strap, you are cutting off that air going in and out via the mouth. This will lower your blood oxygen level and is not good for your health. After a few months, apparently the body/brain does adjusts and more air goes through the nares. But after hearing this, I wouldn't want to take a chance for a few months taping my mouth.

[inacpapfog]

You might try one (or more) of the moisturizing oral products.
OralB makes mouthwash, toothpaste and a gel aimed at dry mouth symptoms. I use the toothpaste before going to bed and I keep a tube of the gel bedside along with a bottle of water. If I wake up with an overly dry mouth, I take a sip of water and follow that with some of the gel! Sure provides that additional soothing to dry membranes!

[beneyw]

When a doc says..taping the mouth lowers blood oxygen...my response would be...PROVE it. I had an oximetry study with taped mouth and Swift mask and the numbers were consistently in the mid 90's. We have to learn not to accept everything a doc says without asking questions or for data to support their 'conclusions.' My sleep doc said,,,"what a clever idea." Who is right? I don't know but I do know my oxygen levels are fine. Call a DME and get a one night oximeter study. The numbers will tell all.

[billionzz]

Thanks, I'll go ahead and try the Oral B products.

[maskjkie]

When a doc says..taping the mouth lowers blood oxygen...my response would be...PROVE it. I had an oximetry study with taped mouth and Swift mask and the numbers were consistently in the mid 90's. We have to learn not to accept everything a doc says without asking questions or for data to support their 'conclusions.' My sleep doc said,,,"what a clever idea." Who is right? I don't know but I do know my oxygen levels are fine. Call a DME and get a one night oximeter study. The numbers will tell all.

Although I understand your skepticism, a one night oximetry after you start taping the mouth won't tell the whole picture. Assuming taping the mouth does have an effect (which I'm frankly not sure), it may take sometime before a statistically meaningful change is detected. Also it may take monitoring for a few days rather than just one night to confirm that there has been a change.

I'm personally against taping the mouth because it is not very hygenic. The inside surface of the tape wil be a breeding ground for bacteria. A few of my patients are also allergic to the tape.

[tooly125]

Bill,

Please let us know how you make out with the Oral B. I have found with the Hybrid that most of the time I have stopped mouth breathing but once in a while I do wake in the morning with a dry mouth indicating that I had a mouth leak.

I believe we are experiencing a mouth leak much like someone with a nasal interface would.With a nasal interface that would mean a loss of therapy.
I think this phenomenon is unique to the Hybrid and I wonder if it has any effect on a persons therapy?

[Guest]

I have dry mouth and i have a full face mask Flexfit HC431

[quilterB]

Tooly,
I am a little confused. Does a person have mouth leaks if they use the hybrid? I thought that was the thought behind the hybrid, that it was a combination of the 2 so that if you did breathe through your mouth it would not affect your therapy since it also has the nasal pillows. I definitely breathe through my mouth with my hybrid. Even more since I cut the chin strap off.

[kurtchan]

I strongly suggest the Oral B products to help with dry mouth. I had chronic dry mouth long before I started CPAP therapy, and the Oral B toothpaste and gel really seem to help. I also keep a glass of water by the bed and take a nice big swig before I tape my mouth and put on my Comfort Curve mask. I've been using the same formula for the past 5 weeks and it works fairly well. On occassion, I do wake up with my tongue stuck to my hard palate, but a quick rinse in the morning does the trick.

Good luck!

Kurtchan